As one of the most iconic images of Brazil, the Christ the Redeemer is on almost everyone’s bucket-list when they come to visit Rio de Janeiro. The statue is an imposing monumental in its own right, yet the real joy of going there lies in the panoramic views overlooking the city and its extraordinary coastline. To get the most out of your trip to Christ the Redeemer, here is a complete guide to visiting this must-see landmark.
*UPDATE: (11th July, 2017) Since publishing, we decided to update our hike section. In the last 2 weeks, 58 hikers have been robbed on the forest-trail up Corcovado that begins at Parque Lage and leads up to the Christ. As a result, the path has been closed to the public and for now is no longer accessible. We recommend you take the bus or van up to the top for now and we will keep you posted when this situation changes.
There are three ways to get up to the Christ the Redeemer statue – by van, by train, or hike your way up.
- GOING BY TRAIN
The train (or bondinho as it’s known in Portuguese) slowly ambles up Corcovado mountain through the Atlantic forest, allowing visitors to experience the largest urban rainforest in the world at a close proximity. The rustic style of the train accompanied by the occasional live samba adds to the charming scene.
To take the train, go to the Trem do Corcovado station at the base of the Corcovado peak. To get there, you can either take a taxi or the metrô to Largo do Machado then the Integration Bus (Ônibus de integração) in the direction of Cosme Velho. Jump off in front of the São Judas Tadeu church and the Trem do Corcovado station is right there. The train leaves every 20 or 30 minutes and you don’t need to schedule a set time to go. The ride up takes about 20 minutes. The train leaves the train station between 8:20 am and 5 pm every day and the last ride back down is between 6:30 pm and 7 pm.
You can buy tickets at the train station but queues can get big. For those that hate queues, it’s best to buy in advance at one of the Riotur kiosks which are in Copacabana on Avenida Atlantica in front of Rua Hilario de Gouveia or in the city center on Rua da Candelaria, 6, (open 8 am until 7 pm) or online at the official site.
Prices
The prices include the train up, back down and the entrance to the Christ.
For adults (including students) – R$61 at low season. R$74 at high season (high season includes weekends and holidays all year round).
Children between 5 and 11 – R$48 (low and high season)
Seniors more than 60 years – R$24 (low and high season)
Children under 4 – free
- GOING BY VAN
The official van leaves from three points in the city which makes getting around that little bit easier.
The points are at Praca do Lido in Copacabana, next to the metro at Lago do Machado and at Città America in Barra da Tijuca. You can buy the tickets at the bus points (which includes the way there, the way back and the entrance for the Christ) but it’s worth buying online – the queues in Copacabana and Largo do Machado have been known to be up to an hour and a half during high season!
Picking up the van in:
Copacabana
The vans leave from Praça do Lido at posto 2 (Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana between Rua Ronald de Carvalho and Rua Belfort Roxo). They leave every 15 minutes and the non-stop route takes about 45 minutes to arrive with usual traffic.
Price:
Adults (even students) – R$70 in high season (holidays, carnival, weekends), R$57 in low season
Children 5 to 11 – R$44 in both high and low season
Seniors over 60 – R$37
Children under 5 – free
The van does pick ups in Copacabana every day between 8 am and 5 pm. The final trip back down Corcovado is between 6 pm and 6:30 pm
Largo do Machado
The vans leave from Praça do Largo do Machado in front of the church and happen every 15 minutes. It will take about 30 minutes in all to get from there to the entrance to the Christ.
Price:
Adults (even students) – R$70 in high season (holidays, carnival, weekends), R$57 in low season
Children 5 to 11 – R$44 in both high and low season
Seniors over 60 – R$37
Children under 5 – free
The van does pick ups at Lago do Machado every day between 8 am and 5 pm. The final trip back down Corcovado is between 6 pm and 6:30 pm
Barra da Tijuca
The van leaves from Shopping Città America on Avenida das Americas, 700 and takes place every 30 minutes. It takes about 50 minutes to get from the shopping mall to the top of the Corcovado.
Price:
Adults – R$102 in high season and R$89 in low season
Children between 5 and 11 – R$76 in both high and low seasons
Seniors over 60 – R$69
Children under 5 – free
The van does pick ups between 8 am and 4:30 pm every day and the last van to go back down Corcovado leaves between 6 pm and 6:30 pm.
You can take a taxi or non-official van (the non-official van costs about R$30 and leaves from Cosme Velho) to the Visitor Center then take an official van the rest of the way (they’re the only ones that are allowed to do that last stretch up to the Christ). I would strongly recommend avoiding the hassle of driving your own car there – there is no parking and it’s so much easier to make the most of the other transport options available.
To take the van from the Visitors Center, the prices are as follows:
Adults – R$40 in high season, R$27 in low season.
Children between 5 and 11 – R$14 all year round
Seniors over 60 – R$7
Children under 5 – free.
The van leaves from the Visitor Center every day between 8 am and 6 pm with the final van leaving the top of Corcovado between 6 pm and 6:30 pm
- Going by hiking
I’m saving the best for last as the hike up Corcovado to the Christ is definitely a personal favorite! I love being surrounded by the Atlantic forest and the cute little monkeys, plus it’s immensely rewarding tackling the trail that starts at the beautiful Parque Lage (tip: stop by there for a pre-hike breakfast) and goes all the way up to the Christ. Take plenty of water as the whole trip up and back down takes at least two hours.
There are some tour companies that offer a guided tour up Corcovado and charge a small fortune. This trail is FREE, easy to do and can definitely be done independently. However, there have been news of muggings on the hike going up with groups of robbers taking mobile phones and other items. Whilst it is more likely nothing will happen, these unfortunate incidents do and can occur, so it is best to never do the hike alone and leave all belongings of value at home. In the worst case scenario and you do get approached by criminals, hand over any belongings calmly and always cooperate. It’s a good idea to always have a bit of cash on you so if you do get robbed, you have something to hand over, saving you from the need to explain that you don’t have anything on you which can be misinterpreted by robbers due to language barriers. This information is not to scare you! It is simply informative of all possibilities – remember, knowledge is power.
If you do the hike, you can buy your ticket for the Christ there (expect queues in the high season!) or on the official site. BE AWARE: if you buy the ticket at the entrance to the Christ, make sure you take enough cash as you can ONLY pay in cash there, they don’t accept cards. Prices are:
Adults – R$24 in the high season and R$12 in the low season. Seniors over 60 and children under 11 are free.
As this place is all about the views, visibility is key so try going either before 8:30 am or after 3:30 pm when there is fewer crowds, less heat, and better visibility and less haze.
The busiest times of the year is around Christmas, New Year, Carnival, holidays and weekends.
So, that’s it! The complete guide to visiting the Christ the Redeemer. If there is anything I’ve missed or you would like to know about, just take a moment to comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Also, if you have been already, please share your stories and pictures! I love a good travel story and would love to hear yours.
Image credits: Fernando Maia and Alexandre Macieira from Riotur / Visit.Rio
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Truly, this is the iconic Christ the redeemer in Rio de Janeiro that everyone should visit. I love that you made this post as an ultimate guide. From how to get there and all the necessary travel expenses including the guide. I haven’t been here actually, and this has long been penned on my bucket list. Hopefully I can visit here soon. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I haven’t been to Brazil yet and haven’t thought how to get to the Christ. It sounds like a great experience to hike there. It is good that there are so many different options to get there, really hope I can visit Brazil soon. Looks amazing 🙂
I am so sorry to hear that there have been ruberies along the hiking trail to the statue. I think it was great to go up by any means of transportation and come back on foot. I usually like these kind of combinations, as you can see a bit of everything. But well, Rio de janiero is in a country where not everything is perfect. Christ the Redeemer statue is a must see but you have to pay attention.
This really is a must-see in Rio! I went in 2016, and even then there were warnings about robberies on the hike although it was still open to the public. I took the bus up though, which was straightforward and easy. It was super busy though (Carnival Week) but still worth it!
thanks ! great post. Will go there tomorrow and see which one is the best way x
We had a great visit to Cristos Redentor however, they would not provide me with the seniors discount as I am Canadian and not Brazilian; same for my daughter-in-law as she is a student in Canada (even though she is Brazilian). Very confusing! He said it was due to the laws of that state, as we mentioned other tourist attractions provided the discount. We were not able to confirm this with anyone so it left us wondering how accurate this was.
Hello! If you look at the main website (http://www.tremdocorcovado.rio/general-information.html), it states that prices are: Adult – High Season*: R$ 82,00, Adult – Low Season*: R$ 67,00, Elderly (over 60 years old living in Brazil) R$ 26,00
& Child (5-11 years) R$ 52,00. As a result, students and seniors from outside of Brazil would not be able to get any discounts. We hope you still had an amazing time.